KIRKUS REVIEW

Separated, unaware of the others, three
teens try to wrest control of the galaxy from an evil celebrity in this sequel
to Empress of a Thousand Skies (2017).

Nero,
a “holovision star with a pretty face” who’s seized rule of
the galaxy, seeks the overwriter—technology that mines memories, erases
history, and controls populations by mind control. Does it really exist?
Working against him are: Rhee, reluctantly acting as empress because her older
sister, rightful inheritor of the Ta’an dynasty, is missing; Kara, who is Rhee’s
sister, alive but undercover, hoping to save humanity yet erase herself with
the overwriter; and Aly, a boy who loves Kara, thinks she’s dead, and joins a
plot to assassinate Nero—as revenge for Kara and for obliterating Aly’s home
planet. Rhee and Kara have tan skin; Aly is black. As Nero orchestrates
explosions and airs deceptive holovision broadcasts, the teens’ fierce little “orbit
of soldiers and refugees and loyalists” comes together and apart on various
planets. Violence is everywhere, and the protagonists labor under
misunderstandings, trauma, and loneliness. Belleza’s plot is terrific, though
the writing is not as smooth as in its predecessor. Reveals are profound in
substance, though the moments of revelation pack less punch than they could.
Given its relative choppiness and rushed feeling, this sequel should be read
immediately after Empress, to import its heart.

Not a stand-alone but an essential
conclusion with indelible moments. (map, character list, planet list) (Science
fiction. 14-18)

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